1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system design method, and more particularly to a system and method for constructing optimal cybernetic based systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Few problems encountered in everyday experience have perfect solutions either because there is insufficient information to solve it perfectly or, having sufficient information, the actions necessary to achieve the desired goal are unable to be performed. Almost always, there is some information upon which to make intelligent decisions or effect actions regarding what we should say or should do. The important points are that one desires to optimally exploit what is known at the instant time when a decision is made or an act effected and that one should be able to anticipate what additional information will be needed in the future to effect future actions.
As such, a common approach to problem solving is to obtain the necessary information, make necessary interferences, and carry out required actions in the “best” way possible given the practical constraints of limited knowledge and limited abilities to act. The present invention provides a quantitative definition for what is meant by “best” and a way of exploiting this definition towards a formal design methodology for systems that operate cybernetically.
Were it somehow possible to predict the future, control requirements could be greatly relaxed. However, almost always, we possess some ability to act in the present based on our limited ability to predict the future. Predictive abilities are constrained primarily by two factors (1) the ability to make necessary measurements in the past and (2) the ability to extract the relevant information content from those measurements as pertinent to the subject predictions. Therefore, it is apparent that the ability to predict the future relies heavily on the ability to pose good questions. In turn, and based on the ability to predict the future, controls and actions can be tailored and made more efficient. The essential idea of this invention is that one can quantitatively match the acquisition of information by a system to the intended actions of the system and do so for practical and useful systems.